Container



May 2,' 1944. E; 0. THEN 2,347,719

CONTAINER Filed July 8, 1959 INVENTOR MJZ Patented May 2, 1944 CONTAINEREdward 0. Then, Newark, N. J assignor to American Can Company, New York,N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 8, 1939, Serial No.283,465

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to a two-part hinged tablet box orcontainer and has particular reference to an improved construction whichprovides for easy opening of the box.

An object of the invention is the provision of a two-part hinged tabletbox or the like wherein the cover part is retained on the body part by afloating pintle hinge and wherein pivot projections formed on the coverpart rest on the upper edge of the body part adjacent the hinge and thusprovide fulcrum points on which the cover may be easily rocked bypinching the rear edge of the box so that the latter may be readilysnapped open with one hand.

Numerous other objects andadvantages of the invention will be apparentas it is better understood from the following description, which, takenin connection with the accompanying drawing, discloses a preferredembodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a box embodying the instant invention,the view showing the box being snapped open, the view showing theoutline of a portion of a hand in such operation of pinching the box.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the box shown in Fig. 1,

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged sections taken substantially along the line33 in Fig. 2 and showing the cover of the box in different positions,and

Fig. 5 is a section taken substantially along the line 55 in Fig. 3.

As a preferred embodiment of the invention the drawing illustrates atablet box which includes a sheet metal body member H and a sheet metalcover member l2 which is retained on the body member by a hinge l3. Thebody mem-- her is preferably of a one piece die drawn construction whichcomprises a rectangular shaped fiat bottom wall section having asurrounding upright and continuous side'ivall which includes a frontwall section 16, a reaz wall section ll, and a pair of connecting sidewan sections l8. At the corners these wall sectionsare curved or roundedas indicated by the numeral IS.

The construction of the cover member I2 is similar to the constructionof the body member I l and preferably includes a semi-flattened, domeshaped top wall section 2| which is surrounded by a continuous dependingand integral flange 22. The flange includes a front wall section 23, arear wall section 24, and a pair of connecting side wall sections 25.The corners of these wall sections are rounded as at 26 to fit the bodymember.

At the rear of the box the cover member 12 and the body member I I arehinged together in a floating pintle hinge. Such a hinge includes apintle 3i which is tightly retained in a long hinge lug 32 formed in therear flange wall section of the cover [2. The ends of the pintle extendbeyond the ends of the lug 32 and are engaged in a pair of outwardlyprojecting hinge lugs 33 formed in the rear wall section I! of the bodymember.

The body member hinge lugs 33 are vertically elongatedin order to allowthe pintle free vertical movement therein so that the hinge will be of afloating character. With this hinge construction the cover may bereadily hinged back out of the way to gain access to the interior of thebox.

When the cover member 12 is in closed position on the body member itpreferably rests on the front edge of body wall section I6 and is lockedagainst inadvertent opening. This locking featurg is effected by a pairof small interlocking bosses 35, 36 which are pressed outwardly from thefront wall sections l6 and 23 of the body member I I and the covermember l2 respectively.

Provision is made for readily opening the box by pinching the rear edgesof the cover and the body members together. For this purpose there isprovided a small integrally struck indentation or inwardly extendingprojection 4| in the cover member l2 adjacent the juncture between itstop wall 2| and each side wall 25 thereof. There are thus two of theseprojections, one on each side of the cover, and they are spaced equallyforward from the hinge l3. When the cover is in closed position theseprojections rest on the upper edge at the rear of the side wall sections18 of the body member. The projections 4| could be formed in the bodyside wall sections 18 if desired and thus have them engage against theedge of the cover member with the same operating effect.

Hence when the rear edge of the box is pinched, the hinge pintle 3|moves down in the elongated body lugs 33 and this action rocks the covermember around its fulcrum or pivot projections 4|. With this rockingmovement the outer catch boss 36 in the front wall section 23 of thecover member snaps out of locking engagement with the inner catch box 35of the front wall section l6 of the body member ll. At the same time thepintle 3i seats in its lugs 33 with the result that the front edge ofthe released cover is moved up and away from the body member and into aninitial or partially opened position. From this initial position it isan easy matter to complete the opening by swinging the cover up and overon its hinge pintle into full open position. This gains entrance to thebox interior but by reason of the initial opening step the contents ofthe box are not scattered around as might be done if the box wassuddenly fully opened.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the formhereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A hinged tablet box and the like comprising a one-piece body ofsubstantially rectangular shape with rounded corners and having uprightparallel front and rear walls and parallel side walls all ofsubstantially uniform height throughout, a one-piece cover correspondingin shape to said body and having a semifiattened domed top wall anddepending parallel front and rear walls and parallel side walls whichslip over said body walls to close said box with a releasable frictionalengagement, a floating hinge connection between the rear cover and bodywalls to provide relative vertical movement between said rear walls, andan integrally struck indentation extending inwardly from said coveradjacent the juncture between its top and a side wall and in a rearportion thereof, said indentation constituting an inwardly projectingfulcrum of relatively small area engaging the upper edge of the adjacent body side wall, so that when said body and cover are pinchedtogether rearwardly of said out, a one-piece cover corresponding inshape to said body and having a semi-flattened domed top wall anddepending parallel front and rear walls and parallel side walls whichslip over said body walls to close said box, a complementaryinterengaglng releasable frictional connection between the front walls01' said body and cover and a floating hinge connection between the rearwalls thereof to provide relative vertical movement between said rearwalls, and a pair of oppositely disposed integrally struck indentationsextending inwardly from said cover adjacent the juncture between its topand side walls and in. a rear portion thereof, said indentationsconstitut' ing opposed inwardly projecting fulcrums of relatively smallarea respectively engaging the upper edges of the opposed body sidewalls, so that when said body and cover are pinched together rearwardlyof a said indentation the cover rocks on said body side walls on saidfulcrums within the limits of the vertical movement of said floatinghinge connection to release said connection between the front walls ofthe body and cover and to effect initialopening of the cover.

EDWARD 0. THEN.

